Amzn-User
Amzn-User is Amazon's on-demand fetcher. It visits a page when someone's request to Alexa needs fresh information, and isn't used for AI training.
Amzn-User is the bot Amazon uses to fetch a web page when a person's request needs it. If someone asks Alexa a question that needs up-to-date information, Amzn-User may visit a page to get it. Amazon says it doesn't collect content to train generative AI models. Its page for site owners lists it next to Amazonbot and Amzn-SearchBot.
It's a different kind of visitor from a crawler. A crawler works through the web on its own schedule. Amzn-User only comes when a person has asked for something.
Why robots.txt may not stop it
Amazon says that because Amzn-User acts on a person's request, it may not follow all the rules in your robots.txt.
So if you need to keep it out entirely, a robots.txt rule may not be enough. You'd block it at your host or CDN instead, by name or by the addresses Amazon publishes for it.
Before you do, think about what blocking costs you. If someone asks Alexa for Harrow & Pine's opening hours this weekend, and Amzn-User can't reach the page, the answer may come from an older or less reliable source.
Amazon's three bots
- Amazonbot crawls to improve Amazon's products, and its data may be used to train Amazon's AI models
- Amzn-SearchBot crawls for search in Amazon's products, without AI training
- Amzn-User fetches a page because a person's request needs it, without AI training
For example, you might block Amazonbot to stay out of training, allow Amzn-SearchBot to appear in Alexa's answers, and leave Amzn-User alone so live questions about you get today's facts.